Cordova’s Lady Wolverines proudly came home with the second place trophy after playing in the challenging Valdez Elks Tournament on Feb. 12-14.
CHS made it all the way to the championship game of the tournament after winning a tough two games.
In the first round of play on Feb. 12, they shocked the Lady Buccaneers by a 50-47 final.
Valdez led 21-19 at halftime and stretched their advantage to 36-29 to start the fourth quarter. Cordova rallied with a pair of breakaway baskets and took a 42-39 lead with 2:30 on the clock.
From there, it was back and forth. Cordova hit six of eight free throws in the late going when Valdez fouled to stop the clock.
The Nothstine twins combined for 39 points; Isabelle had 20, Victoria had 19. Elizabeth Baenen added 8, and Layla Phillips had 2.
For the Wolverines, it was a milestone victory as it has been a long time since CHS has defeated their longtime rival.
Next up for Cordova was Bethel. Making inside shots, Bethel jumped to an 11-6 lead and was ahead 19-6 before Cordova hit a pair of threes to rally back and trail 21-18 at halftime.
After a low scoring third quarter, Cordova trailed 22-20. With only 1:42 left on the clock, Victoria Nothstine hit a driving lay-in to give CHS their first lead of the game, at 32-31. Cordova hit a three plus a pair of free throws to escape by a 37-32 final.
Victoria Nothstine led Cordova with 21 points, Isabelle Nothstine added 5, Sadie Fry had 5, and Phillips, Willow Tiedeman, and Katie Pallas scored 2 points each.
The win put Cordova in the finals against Seward, a team that just a week earlier had defeated them by 39 and 31 points on successive nights while the Wolverines were in town.
Cordova came to play, and the Seahawks were down 19-13 at halftime.
After the break, Seward came out on fire, going on a 13-0 run, while holding CHS scoreless for the third quarter. Seward’s high-pressure defense held Cordova to four points in the fourth quarter, and the Seahawks prevailed to finish first by a 33-23 final.
Victoria and Isabelle Nothstine were named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Cordova teams head on the road again next, this time for conference games with Glennallen and Tok on Feb. 19-21.
